Plant-derived foods (“foods”) can be classified into three different groups. The first group of foods consists of the harvested and optionally washed but not processed edible raw parts of crops (“raw foods”). The frequent consumption of these foods is often associated with a healthy life style.
The second group of foods consists of the processed derivatives of raw foods (“processed foods”) that are produced by (1) cutting, slicing, or grinding the raw foods into smaller or small parts, (2) mixing these parts with either water or a solution containing at least one ingredient, (3) applying at least one process such as infusion, shaking, vacuum infiltration and or heating, and (4) extending shelf life by adding at least one preservative, packaging, or storing at low temperatures. Processed foods are dead products but often still have some resemblance to the original raw food. Examples of processed foods include bread, potato chips, jam, sugar-infused strawberries, cucumber pickles, and orange juice.
The third group of products is derived from ingredients. The origin of these “highly-processed” group-3 products is often obscure. Examples include high-energy snacks and beverages, such as nutrition bars, power drinks, candy, and baked sweets such as cakes.
One disadvantage of processed and highly-processed dead foods is that their production consumes much energy (not just for processing but also for packaging, storage, and transport), and creates much waste. Furthermore, these foods lost at least part of their storability, texture, shape, and health-promoting activities (they may contain added vitamins and antioxidants that were synthesized or extracted in factories and that do not have the same health-promoting activities as the vitamins and antioxidants that are present in raw foods). Another disadvantage of processed and highly-processed foods is that they often contain preservatives and large amounts of sugar, salt, and/or fat. The frequent consumption of such foods may negatively affect health and contribute to a detachment of the consumer from his or her environment.
Despite the many disadvantages of producing and consuming processed and highly-processed foods, many consumers have become accustomed to their sophisticated taste and flavor profiles, and they have started to perceive raw foods as boring, bland and undesirable.
It is not reasonable to hope that breeding or genetic engineering will soon create crop varieties with greatly enhanced taste profiles. One of the few genetic traits linked to enhanced quality is the mutated sweet corn gene shrunken (sh). The recessive nature of this trait complicates efforts to introduce and express it in most vegetables and fruits, which have polyploid genomes. Furthermore, the benefit of increased sweetness is offset by the negative effect of sh on starch accumulation, which results in, for instance, reduced shelf life. Technical, regulatory, and perception issues have also impeded progress in genetic engineering. Apart from some transgenic oilseed crops with modified, supposedly healthier, fatty acid profiles, there are currently no successful quality improvements that have proven commercially viable.
Thus, the gradual replacement of raw, healthy and natural foods by (highly) processed and abstract foods represents one of today's most significant dietary issues. The present disclosure is directed toward one or more of the above issues.